Most people blame lack of willpower for their unhealthy choices. I disagree. Sort of. When you make a decision, or resist a donut – you’re expending some of the mental currency you have available that day. Each small decision diminishes your daily energy stores. Check this out… Barack Obama and Mark Zuckerberg wear essentially the same thing to work every day. President Obama dresses in a blue or gray suit and Zuckerberg wears a gray T-shirt. Why? They know they have a day full of decisions ahead of them and a limited amount of mental energy. They put decision making on autopilot where they can. James Clear explains this phenomenon in his article, How Willpower Works: How to Avoid Bad Decisions… “As it turns out, your willpower is … [Read more...] about The Surprising Reason I Recommend a Food Plan
How to Dine Out Without Overdoing It (5 Simple Tips)
A few weeks ago, my husband and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary over an exquisite meal at Martyrs Steakhouse in Taos, New Mexico. There is often great temptation to overeat when dining out - and it's easy to give ourselves permission to do so. Any number of sabotaging thoughts can come into play: This is a once in a lifetime experience. Lobster Mac 'N Cheese! I'll never get the opportunity to try this again. (yes, it was on the menu - OMG). It's our anniversary. We're celebrating! I'll get back on track tomorrow. I've got good news and bad news for you my sweet Chickadee. The bad news first - our bodies don't give a hoot what day it is - extra calories are still going to be stored as fat, even if it's our anniversary (or … [Read more...] about How to Dine Out Without Overdoing It (5 Simple Tips)
What Your Compulsion is Trying to Teach You
Imagine your most recent episode of overeating. What words might you choose to describe your actions? Here are a few common responses I hear. Bad Disgusting Out of Control Weak Powerless Broken Hopeless I'm going to ask you to reconsider and try on the following words instead. Connection Powerful Survival We ordinarily think of compulsive eating as a “bad” thing - something we ought to be ashamed of. In reality, our compulsions around eating serve two very powerful purposes: to numb out undesirable feelings and to bring us comfort. As children, we’re not always capable of handling the intensity of the feelings we’re presented with. Feelings like fear, abandon, grief, panic or inadequacy. We learn early on that … [Read more...] about What Your Compulsion is Trying to Teach You
4 Questions to Ask Before Quitting
Last night I thought about quitting. Quitting my business. Quitting healthy eating. Quitting my strength training program. I had a total crazy town moment. Truth is - I think about quitting all the time. It’s tempting to quit. Quitting is easy. It gives us immediate relief from our challenge. But when we quit, we forgo feelings of accomplishment and pride. Of knowing we're capable of pushing through when things get tough. Of realizing our dreams. That said, quitting isn’t always a bad thing. Sometimes it’s just what we need to do. But it’s important to take the time to sort it out. Really important. I knew I didn’t want to quit all of those things. I knew my feelings of frustration were an opportunity in disguise. An … [Read more...] about 4 Questions to Ask Before Quitting